Barriers
by Spirit 4rcher
Summary: Being a nation, even a small one is difficult.  It's not uncommon for powerful countries to impose their strength onto weaker ones but it's just a common way of life where the strong survive and the weak die out. OC Warning / GerxOC
1. I

**AN: Edited: April 24, 2011**

_Changed quite a few grammar errors and tried to make the story flow better as a third person story. If you see any errors, please do not hesitate to tell me!_

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_Hello, everyone. This is my first story on FF in such a long time. x) I wanted to say a few things before you began reading the story as some warnings and notes._

_- This story was originally a reader-insert (a 'you' story) for Lunaescence but I revised it since I developed the character far enough (it won't seem like it, unfortunately) to where she stands as her own character and not some kind of flimsy Sue._

_If you've found this story and you're from Luna (hello c: ), this version WILL be different from the one on Luna but both are generally the same (this one just has less love with everyone since that seems kind of whoooarish. Hurhur)._

_I have used various language translators for this story because I dislike the whole –this is when we're talking- thing at times. Things WILL be incorrect and if you correct me, I will giggle and ignore you. I already know that it's wrong even though I tried making it right by combining various translators (to which I found IM Translator is somewhat alright, better than Google) so don't correct it. It's worthless to try since everything else is incorrect._

_The rating of the story will bump up in later chapters and this will become quiet dark (at least to me… I think?)_

_I've gone over this chapter three times now, changing everything that I could to make it sound like a normal third-person story. If anything sounds off, please do not hesitate to tell me. I'm always happy to receive critiques or little reviews that tell me of errors that I did. x)_

_Finally, the timeline of the story is set around the early 1960's then takes off from there. I DO use history as a guideline for the story but nothing is perfect (such as I wasn't sure if Russia was still with the United Nations at this point because of the USSR so I made it seem like he finally came after maybe two years of not coming or someone else took his place, it's however you interpret it). I'm only human._

_P.S. Lydra was really once a tiny island nation in the south hemisphere, apparently. I only knew that after a reviewer on Luna investigated Lydra herself. I had a good laugh but this Lydra is located in the northern hemisphere and will have no relations to the now renamed Nassu in the Cook Islands._

_Fuu, so much writing. I'm sorry. =A=;; I'll shut up now. Please enjoy!_

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Depressed, that sounds like the right word. A young, petite-looking woman, dressed in heavy, wool clothing sat quietly on a seat in a huge building, not quite sure what she was doing there in the first place.

Let's summarize this from the beginning. This young woman in particular was the human representation of the nation of Lydra. Sort of. In reality, Lydra was a small island that the North Pole had found during the fifteenth century. Her people, all three-hundred and fifty of them (or so one assumed since there was never a count) came mainly from Russia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The people living on the island were mainly those who were fed up with society and moved away in order to create their own little kingdoms and fantasies. The island was located above Russia and right next to NP (some few hundred miles off, however). It was incredibly cold but having NP as a friend made life a little better. Aside from the cold, Lydra enjoyed the peace and silence that she gained from living in such a frigid area.

Now, allow us to fast forward.

It was during the late 1950's, early 60's, wasn't it? She wasn't sure but that was the time that Russia had found her island. She had no clue what he wanted since she wasn't fluent in English, Russian or whatever language was in these days since the people of Lydra had dropped their native languages and adopted a new language called Lild, which was strange in itself. It was basically a combination of slurs and harsh talking which often made it sound like a bunch of nonsense. Often times, she assumed whoever she was talking to was an angry drunk because of their accent but that usually was incorrect. Most often, it was the new language of theirs that they had constructed which made everything so frustrating at times.

Russia had begun digging on her land without her consent once he had found her land. Lydra had no clue why but left him alone, hoping that maybe he would just leave. He stayed around for a few months but then was accompanied by... China and... Greenland, was it? They began arguing amongst each other and those months turned into two years of constant digging. She hadn't really cared until she noticed there was something slick and black on the snow around her home. This caused her to become incredibly concerned and when she had gone to their dig site, she had found that it was covered in black, oily liquid. At this point, she were enraged beyond belief and attempted to stop them from destroying her land but the older countries kept her away. Eventually, they took over the island with digging material and it became a battle of who would get the black substance that lay under the ground.

Unable to stop them because she was utterly defenseless and her people were so disturbed and horrified at the 'invaders', Lydra ultimately left the island as did her people for their own safety.

Lydra eventually wandered into Russia's (unoccupied) house, to Estonia, Lavita, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and countless others. The petite woman's journey was frightening since she had met so many weird and scary people as she attempted to find a new home. It only frustrated Lydra even more since she couldn't speak to any of them. Homeless and unable to communicate, she eventually found herself somewhere in England where an overly loud man took great interest in her. She... thought he commented on her hair...? Possibly. He looked amused at her clothes (which she proudly wore! The eldest woman on her island had made them especially for her, plus they were so pretty! Out of the entire outfit, she admired the top the most since it had been decorated with designs and warmer colors. However, the outfit was terribly hot since they _were_ heavy winter clothes and the climate at England's house was warm) and how she spoke. It was at this point that Lydra learned to keep her mouth shut, especially when he laughed at her speech. He eventually took her away across the ocean with a short, bushy-browed man who constantly yelled at him and there she was, in a large building sitting alone in an empty hallway. Before he had left her, he pointed to a room then disappeared into it.

That was not a summary but you get the gist. Lydra **was** once an island nation (complete with a small government!) and now she'd soon be nothing. Again, depressing. That sounds like a good word.

"Italien, kommen nicht!"

"Ma Germania, voglio andare con voi!" a tall, blonde man dressed in a dark suit stepped out of the room the loud man had gone into earlier and stuck his arm in. Two pairs of arms wiggled out of the doors opening but the tall man eventually squeezed his arm out. Eventually, he lifted his leg and kicked into the the room. There was a loud 'EEK!' then he slammed the door. He sighed deeply then turned around to walk off but noticed the young woman sitting on the opposite side.

She stared. Where had she... oh, wait! She remembered now! She saw that man a while back! He looked so scary (and abnormally tall by her standards) but his actions weren't. However, she had run off after he said 'hallo'. His language was so harsh and he seemed intimidating.

"Hallo," he smiled lightly. Or... it looked like he was trying to put on a nice face...?

"Ethack," Lydra muttered hello in Lild then looked down. The man looked around then walked towards her and took a seat next to the heavily dressed woman. There was then an awkward silence.

"Das wetter ist nett, ja?" _the weather is nice, yes?_; he spoke. She said nothing.

A bit more silence...

"Do you know English?" his language changed. His accent was clearly in the way and she almost laughed but continued to be silent.

"Conoscete italiano?" it changed again. Was he trying to figure out what she language she spoke?

"Nihon? Русский? Français?" Nothing.

"Neyer zexidup maxith cha igo," _please stop talking to me_; Lydra responded.

The man looked utterly confused at her speech yet she didn't notice. At this point, the young woman had gotten up and walked off. Once she turned a corner, she began running. He didn't scare her anymore since he appeared to be friendly (he didn't seem that daunting either) so it wasn't that. It was the fact that he made her feel kind of funny. Like, giddy happy?

"He, zurückgekommen!" _hey, come back!_; she heard his voice echo from the walls.

The small nation quickly escaped through a few hallways then noticed two doors up ahead. One had a pink sign that read 'Ladies' in some weird language and a blue one that said 'Gentlemen' in the same language. Both had pictures of two stick figures. One looked straight and the other one looked like a... dress? Hm... Lydra eventually chose the blue one because the color looked more pleasing to her. She opened the door and rushed in but not after noticing strange things on the wall. She stopped in her tracks and walked over to look at them. They looked so... weird. Did people sit in them? She was somewhat amused at how awkward it would be to sit on it. She turned to hide in one of the stalls when a meek looking man bumped into her. He seemed utterly surprised.

"Ką tu darai čia?" _what are you doing in here?_; he exclaimed.

The small woman waved her hands in front of her then ruffled the mans hair before exclaiming 'ifochir chozaj ejujipa jush' (you look cute scared) then hid in a stall and after a few slams of the door, figured out how to lock it by using the hinge.

"Oh... Ar ne tai, kad šalis kad Rusija buvo išleisti savo laiką dėl naftos?" _isn't that the country that Russia has been spending his time on for oil?_; the man muttered then exited the room.

Lydra wiggled in her stall a bit. She was sitting on top of a toilet seat (with her feet on the toilet rim) and it felt somewhat awkward. Did people use these things to go? It seemed so, at least. She always dug a hole, what was wrong with that?

The island nation twiddled with her thumbs before hearing light mutterings from outside the bathroom. She assumed people were passing by before the door opened.

"He, sind Sie in hier?" Silence.

"Lydra?" oh, man, how did he find out her name? She began pulling her hair before another voice spoke in.

"I saw her in her a few moments ago, Mr. Ludwig," that voice sounded meek and the accent seemed a bit deep but it also sounded lighthearted. Everyone had different accents here!

"Ah, thank you, ...Toris?"

"Yes, sir."

No one left the room but she heard someone start walking then stopping every few seconds. It wasn't until that person got to her stall that she possibly knew what he was doing. He was checking under the stalls to see if she was in one of them, but that'd be too analytical and he was possibly just doing something else. Thankfully, though, since she was sitting on the toilet, he couldn't see her feet. But... wait. He didn't move away...

"Lydra, bitte herausgekommen. Ich bin nicht dabei, Sie zu verletzen," _Lydra, please come out. I'm not going to hurt you_; his voice sounded soothing even though his accent got in the way of it.

The woman waited a few moments before he gently knocked on her stall. Oh, whatever. It wasn't like she was going to get away in this box anyway. Lydra stood and opened the door to find the vertically blessed man smiling gently down at her grumpy face.

"Was tun Sie im mens Badezimmer irgendwie? Sie hätten besseres Glück gehabt, das sich im womens Zimmer verbirgt," _what were you doing hiding in the mens' bathroom? You would have had better luck hiding in the womens' room_; she said nothing but began shuffling off. She felt like a defeated child and the smile that the meek boy gave her made she feel worse. However, once she reached the door, she bolted and ran off with her arms in the air. It almost looked like she was a bit of a maniac.

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It had been some twenty minutes later when the man found her again. This time, Lydra was under a desk in a deserted room and this time, he was accompanied by a man who appeared shorter than him but looked like a complete airhead because of his relaxed expression.

"Ovviamente non si sa come gestire le donne, la Germania! Ti insegno io! Guardami!" he patting the taller mans back, he knelt down besides the small woman, "ciao, bella signora. Vuoi uscire con me? I tratterà di una bella cena italiana a casa mia!" _you obviously don't know how to handle women, Germany. Watch me, I'll teach you! Hello, beautiful lady, would you like to go out with me? I will treat you to a wonderful Italian dinner at my house!_; Lydra stared.

"Lei ha gli occhi molto belli. Sono così luminosa e piena di vita, ma lei sembra così depresso, come mai? È perché la Germania è grande e spaventoso?" _you have very beautiful eyes. They're so bright and full of life but you seem so sad, why is that? Is it because Germany is big and scary?_

Nothing.

"Posso renderlo migliore. Lo curerò di destra e noi potete fare insieme le cose alla notte, che cosa dite?" _I can make it better. I will treat you right and we can do things together at night, what do you say?_

At the point of 'che cosa diet' he placed his hand on Lydras shoulder and gently began rubbing it. After he said 'diet' she took the opportunity to punch him straight in the face, possibly cracking something in the process.

"Zokar tofano apo, lech owofuz ratazil!" _don't touch me, you disgusting man!_; Lydra spat as she angrily stood up and glared at the man who was now holding his face (which was slowly starting to bleed). The taller man seemed taken back by the tiny nation's sudden outburst. Lydra snorted then angrily walked off again and this time the blonde haired man didn't follow her.

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"Qui guyu mishu ochesh imuthiga!" Lydra sang out in a hallway. The little nation was utterly lost and confused. Since she had punched that one guy, she hadn't seen anyone around. It was really strange. Oh... wait.

"Интересно, что Литва сделает сегодня вечером," _I wonder what Lithuania will make tonight_; she heard as she turned a corner. And there appeared... Russia on the other side of the hall. Oh, crap! Lydra bolted back the way she came from but bumped into someone and stumbled back a bit.

"Nove, nove!" _sorry, sorry_; she muttered and looked up.

"Oh, et qu'avons-nous ici ? Vous êtes tout à fait beaux, ne sont pas vous, la jeune dame," _oh, and who do we have here? You're quite beautiful, aren't you, young lady?_; the man had long, blonde hair and he was frightening the small woman every second.

"Nove, ech asad da areyo. Pi echofuziy guyurot," _sorry, I have to leave. I'm wanted elsewhere_; she waved her hands in front of her then turned to leave but he grabbed one of her wrists and pulled against him (which felt awkward to her since she was only 157 cm and he appeared to be around 175 cm so she ultimately fell around his torso area).

"Pourquoi partez-vous si bientôt ? Vous m'aimez ? Je vous aime, je vous aime tout à fait un peu. Eh bien, quittons cet endroit et allons quelque part pour la nuit. Je sais un hôtel agréable à proximité," _why are you leaving so soon? Don't you like me? I like you; I like you quite a bit. Come, let's leave this place and go somewhere for the night. I know a nice hotel nearby_; creepy, creepy, creepy!

"Iche!" _no!_; she yelled in his face (or towards his chest since she couldn't exactly reach his face from where she stood) then began to struggle, attempting to get away.

"Oh, hello, France," a creepier... voice spoke.

"Hello, Russia," the man holding Lydra bent over slightly and placed an arm around her waist, "how did you like the meeting today? It was the first time in a long time since you've been to one and you left a bit early," this felt so incredibly wrong.

"I didn't like it at all. I had to leave early because I couldn't stand America's constant blathering. It was like hearing him talk to me over the radio again. Oh, and who do you have there?"

"I found her just now," he turned the little nation around, "she's pretty, isn't she?" Lydra stood stone faced. Oh, crap, oh, crap, oh, crap. It's Russia. It's Russia. It's Russia. It's Russia. A little mental breakdown going on in Lydra's head at the moment.

"Oh, it's Lydra!" he smiled and lightly waved at her, "ratazil poh tir aw onosh!" _thank you for the oil_; he spoke to her in her language which he must have picked it up while he was 'visiting' (as Lydra called it) her home. The comment made her want to lash out at him but she knew how he was when he was... angry. She saw it once when he was fighting with China. It was a chilling experience and the little nation knew better to not provoke him.

"Ah, her name is Lydra? I've never seen her before," the man holding her patted her head.

"Her house is above my house, right next to North Poles home."

"Oh, so it's colder than her house?"

"Nothing is colder than Siberia," Russia's voice deepened and became utterly frightening.

"Right... uh... let's go... Lydra! We're going to do some sightseeing! Bye-bye, Russia!" and with that, the man holding her captive picked her up by the waist and rushed her away from Russia who was muttering 'kol, kol, kol' under his breath.

"He's scary, isn't he?" the blonde haired man asked as he set Lydra down on a bench, ways away from Russia, "so, should we get that room?" he winked at she.

"Ech ifixe ethum oque poh," _I smell death on you_; she muttered. He tilted his head.

"Wha-"

"There she is!" she looked left then right. It was that one guy who took her to this place! He bounced over from nowhere and hugged her, "I've been looking all over for you! England and I were worried about where you went when we didn't see you on the bench! I told you to stay there, didn't I?" he looked at her with concern in his eyes. She tilted her head. What?

"You know her?" the blonde asked.

"Yep! Found her wandering around outside of England's house! I decided to bring her here when she almost fainted after smelling England's food. I thought my food would be better. Incidentally, here!" he took out a package from his aviators coat then handed it to her, "I got this one from McDonald's!"

"You idiot, you're going to kill her with your food! Your food is disgusting, I don't know why you aren't dead yet from it!"

"No, it's not! I eat it all the time and I'm healthy!" he puffed out his chest to show the other man. Lydra, on the other hand, curious as to what the man in glasses gave her, began unwrapping the package to find a pathetic looking piece of 'food'. It looked... quite dull and the bread holding the meat together looked flimsy. She looked up at the hyperactive man.

"Go on, eat it! It's a hamburger from this new place that's been opening up everywhere! I bet you're hungry, I got it especially for you!" he smiled brightly.

Curious, she stared at the sad excuse for a... whatever it was then took a small bi...

…

Ew.

Instantly, Lydra spit out whatever she had put in her mouth then placed the rest next to her and slid it away. Ew, ew, ew.

"Ahaha! She doesn't like you food!" the blonde man began cracking up.

"Wha? Why? It's better than England's food!" the brown haired man appeared depressed as he picked up the burger and stared at it in confusion.

"Here, I can make her better food," the blonde haired man took the island nations hand into his but she instantly took it away and held it to herself. She stood up and pushed both men away with force then walked forward and down the hall, away from both of them.

"Hey, wait!" both called out to her but the little nation ignored them both as they tagged along beside the small woman, appearing as her tall body guards. Their constant chatter made her head spin.

As she turned to a corridor, she noticed a man who appeared to be around her height with black hair. He was standing in front of a door and it looked like he was deciding whether or not to go in. Because of all the chatter, he noticed her little group.

"Oh, hello, America, France," the man turned and bowed.

"Hello, Japan!" the brown haired man yelled, "what are you doing?" at this point, Lydra attempted to continue walking off but the loud one grabbed her arm and held her by his side. Blasted people.

"China decided to lock himself in a room but I'm not sure why," he pointed to the door.

"Oh, I can help!" the man let go of her and she stepped back as he approached the door then began banging on it, "China, come out! I have tea for you!"

"No! Your tea is disgusting! It tastes like pure sugar!" a voice called out from behind the door.

"Ah, you can't hide forever, eh, China?" France sort floated his way to the door and together with America, began pounding at the door while Lydra stood with Japan looking on.

"Hello," Japan looked at Lydra as he waited for a response. None came as she stared at the two men still bashing at the door.

"Kombanwa, Nihon desu," _good evening, I am Japan_; he tried again but this time in his language. Still nothing. She didn't even know he was talking to her, "um...," it was at that point that that Lydra realized he had been talking to _her_.

"Nove! Ech ratazil pohafer poh awi areyohahed pip echo," _sorry! I didn't realize you were talking to me_; Japan looked confused.

"Nihon-go ga hanase masuka?" _do you speak Japanese?_; Lydra stared at him then looked away, "watashi ha suisoku suru," _I guess not._

"滚开！离开我!" _get away! Get away from me!_; a man shouted after America and France broke the door down. For a few moments, there was shuffling then France came out with a wild China-mon on his back.

"China, we have to go to Hong Kong's house. He invited us to go today," Japan stated as the older Asian flailed and swatted the Frenchman.

"I will not! I will—oh, hello, Lydra!" he paused in his flailing and waved at the small woman. She stuck her nose up and looked the other way in response. She remembered how he fought with Russia back at her house and she also remembered how he helped ruin her home (which was another cause for her to flee), "aww, don't be that way, aru! What did I do to make you look so sad?" she didn't answer since she had no clue what he said.

"Oh, her name is Lydra?" Japan asked. After hearing her name she looked to the smaller Asian man and shrugged then began to walk off.

"Hey, hey! Where are you going? We have to meet with England!" America shouted. He was about to run after her but he was stopped after France shoved China to him and both began struggling to keep China calm.

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Left, right, up, down, left, left, right, right. This place was _huge_. Oooo, wuzzat?

Lydra had stopped and stared into a big box that had some sort of flimsy glass separating her from whatever it held inside. She had no clue what it did so she hit the glass once.

Nothing.

Okay, try again.

...nothing.

The little nation wiped her brow with her sleeve as she looked at the box in confusion. She then took the edges of the over-sized _thing_ and began shaking it back and forth. The items inside jingled and crunched lightly but they ultimately did not budge or fall.

"Hey! What are you doing?" she looked to where the voice was coming from and saw the angry man who had accompanied her and the brown haired man to this place. His eyebrows were biiig, "you're going to tip it over, stop it," he smacked her hands away from the box, "what is it? Do you want a crisp?" he pointed to the box. She stared at the box, "hold on," he moved in front of her and took out his wallet from his coat pocket then took out a piece of paper and began putting it into the box which gave it back to him. Strange.

"Bloody America, his things are bi-polar, I swear," the box finally accepted the paper and he sighed, "what do you want?" she stared at him, "oh, right, I keep forgetting you speak a dead language. Right, uh... which one of these do you want?" he pointed to a few items inside the box and just to imitate him, Lydra pointed to the exact same ones he pointed at, "well, that didn't work. I'll just pick one for you since most of America's things are a bit fattening," he pressed a few things on the box then looked to the glass. She did as well then had a small panic attack after one of the items began moving. It eventually dropped down and the man bent down in front of her to retrieve it from inside the box. He opened a large flap at the bottom and took out a crinkling bag, "here," he handed it to her. She looked at it.

"They're crisps," he opened the bag for her and took a chip out, "see? Crisps," he ate the chip and she stared back down to the bag.

What ever happened to just catching food? Food came in all sorts of weird things now! Packages! Packages with pre-made food! What in the world?

She grimaced but took one out nevertheless and ate it. ...it was alright.

"Good, bad?" the man asked but she gave him the bag, "bad, I guess. I don't blame you," he threw the bag into a large bin next to the box and began steering Lydra away from the box, "come now, we need to find America. I need to talk to him about our relations," he grumbled.

"Ech yoxo yek agadeh," _I want to leave_; Lydra muttered. This place was so tiring! If only her home wasn't in ruins, maybe she would be sleeping right now or maybe she'd be at NP's house making weird things in the snow. The warmer climate did weird things to her skin, too. It wasn't all dried out like it usually was so that was a plus but she often found herself missing the cold weather. She felt her depression starting to sink in again...

"I wish I knew what you said," the man said as she both turned a corner, "oh," he muttered and sped up a bit.

"He, Lydra!" _Hey, Lydra!_; It was the tall, intimidating, blonde man at the end of the hallway! Yay!

"Germany, have you seen America?" Bushy-brow asked.

"America... ? Oh, I saw him with France, China, and Japan on the second floor. It looked like they were trying to do something with China, I'm not sure what though," the man looked down at Lydra briefly before Bushy-brow spoke once more.

"Oh, right then. Thank you," he walked off but Lydra never moved. After noticing he was the only one walking, he turned around and found the little nation staring at him. She waved, "I'll... be back," he shrugged, turned and walked off.

"Ich hoffe, dass Sie nicht mehr nicht böse sind," _I hope you aren't angry anymore_; she shrugged then walked to the nearest door and turned the knob. It was unlocked so she peeked inside. Just a bunch of chairs. She shut the door and went to the next door.

"So, haben Sie einen sehr netten Namen. Ich mag es, ich denke, dass es Ihnen anpasst," _so you have a very unique name. I like it, I think it suits you_; Lydra peeked into another room. Desks. Ick. She shut the door and looked at the man, shrugging to whatever he said. Next door!

"Ich wünsche, dass ich mit Ihnen kommunizieren konnte," _I wish I could communicate with you_; that last bit sounded disheartening. The young woman pursed her lips and opened the next door. Ooooh, just what she wanted! She turned and quickly grabbed the taller man's wrist (was he 180 cm or something? She dwarfed him via height and it felt a bit annoying since she was so small!) then dragged him into the room. She released him once inside then ran to the opposing which held a giant world map. The map looked remarkably different to what her maps back home were like (since they were a _bit_ archaic and not up to date… since the eighteenth century). The little nation turned to him then began pointing to herself then to the ceiling. She began jumping in attempts to get to properly point to where her house would be but since she was so short, she was unable to reach the top of the map. Thinking quickly, Lydra grabbed the nearest chair then positioned it where she could reach Russia but she was still too short. She looked around and the man had figured out what she was doing by this time. He looked around as well then spotted a ruler sitting by one of the desks in one of the corners. He walked over, grabbed it then gave it to her. Lydra lifted the ruler up and pointed at nothing on the map.

"Lydra," she told him. Since her island was so small, most people didn't know about it. It had amazed her that Russia, China and Greenland even found her house since it was really just a tiny island. The man nodded then walked up to the map and motioned for the ruler. She handed it to him and he pointed to a place far away from hers.

"Deutschland."

"De.. uutsh... ichedeh," she attempted to repeat. It was so difficult!

"Let's try... Germany. Germany," he said.

"Jeh-r-mohn-key," she attempted to repeat.

"Monkey?" he laughed. She gasped and her hands instantly went up to her mouth.

" Zokar kopux och echo!" _don't laugh at me!_; she cried behind her mouth.

"Es tut mir leid, dass, Es tut mir leid, dass," _I'm sorry, I'm sorry_; Lydra clicked her tongue then took the ruler out of his hands and pointed towards the North Pole.

"North Pole," she looked at him and he nodded, "tachben," _friend_.

"Tekbahn?" he repeated in confusion. Lydra fumbled with the ruler then looked at Europe. She remembered France from earlier. After looking for a while, she found the shape of France (she had taught herself how to recognize each country by their shapes when she was younger but that was obviously a bit useless, especially since this map looked updated. She was just lucky France hadn't really changed) and pointed at it.

"Franque?" she then pointed at Germany then back to France, "techben?"

He was unsure of what she was trying to say but he shook his head. He could only assume that she meant he had relations with France in some way. He pointed to Italy, "Italien."

"Tachben?" she asked.

"Tekbahn?" he asked back. She thought for a moment then sat down on her chair and took his hand into hers, "Jerm-mon-iee tachben Lydra," she smiled and shook his hand then played around with it, gently throwing it from one of her hands to the other. His hands were so big!

"Bedeutet tekbahn freund?" _does tekbahn mean friend?_; she continued to smile at him and repeat 'tachben' once more. She released his hand, stood up in her chair and pointed to Russia and China.

"Tachben," Lydra shook her head and arms, "iche tachben," _not friends_; she pointed to Germany, "tachben," then nodded her head.

Germany nodded his head. Assuming that his assumption was now correct, he pointed to Italy again, "tekbahn," he moved behind her and moved over towards Asia then pointed to a thin island, "tekbahn," he then took the ruler from her and pointed to the middle of nowhere near the North Pole, "tekbahn."

"Yay!" she clapped her hands together then got off her chair and smiled at him, "sozg ul mupale," _let's go outside_; she took his hand again and led him away from the room.

She eventually found her way out of the building (with help from Germany) and together she sat with him on a bench under a tree, still trying to communicate with each other.


	2. II

**AN**: _Re-edited the first chapter and tried to get it as coherent as I could. Honestly, transforming this story from a 'you' fiction to a 'she/her' fiction is kind of hard for me since nothing sounds right for some reason. More than likely, there are _bound_ to be errors in this one. If you spot any, please to do not hesitate to point them out (minus the different language ones. Those will _**always**_ be wrong). This story has 9 more chapters (and 30,000 words?) to go before this version of the story is caught up with the current version on another site. :)_

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It had been two weeks since Lydra had formally met Germany and within two weeks she had successfully learned how to say 'hello, my name is Lydra' and 'I hate you' in English and German. Germany had no clue where she learned the latter but it was progress nevertheless. During the two weeks, Lydra also become acquainted to a few countries who had popped up here and there. Some included Austria, Estonia, Finland, and some man with a polar bear...

Anyway, Lydra was becoming acquainted with the world and Germany was surprised that she had been taking it well since she used to be an isolated country. When Japan had come out of isolation, America said that he was very awkward, shy and elusive. He also wasn't keen on new things but the little nation on the other hand was more than happy to become introduced to new things. Lydra was still shy around people and disliked speaking to them but if Germany shoved a new gadget in her face she'd instantly have a go at it. Yes, she still rejected some things (such as using a toilet or watching television) but she was generally open to anything.

There were also little social mannerisms Germany had to immediately teach the small nation. Such as eating in public (with utensils, not with your hands), how to properly deal with someone you don't like (rather than punching them in the face or kicking them in the gnads) and that undressing where ever you want is not appropriate since most people think the human body is disgusting or awkward.

Or at least that's what she had interpreted after Germany almost threw her into another room for undressing in front of France. It wasn't Lydra's fault. He had given her a pretty dress on random and she wanted to try it on so why not? No one in her country really cared about appearance. A person was mostly bundled up in animal skins and other materials so one never even saw a boob (or man-boob)! If they did undress then alright. We all look alike, so what's it matter?

Apparently, it mattered to the rest of the world. Boohoo.

Also, France gets even creepier when people start to undress. Eck.

At the present time, Lydra was at Germanys house exploring the many rooms he had. His house was of moderate size but to her, it was huge. Most of the people in Lydra's country made their homes by digging out little caves on the small mountain that stood in the center of the island. Hundreds and hundreds of years later, the small caves had transformed into caverns and extensive tunnels burying deep down the island. However, this seems peculiar since oil had been found on her island recently. Why hadn't Lydra's people discovered it before? She wasn't sure but the past is the past and she suddenly found a box of weird things in one of Germanys closets.

The box had Germanys handwriting on it in his language and it looked worn. Not exactly caring that she had to dig to find the box, she opened it up to find the most intriguing items. There was a long rope that felt like leather- oooh, the binding was really intricate on it. There was this long feather that was pink (and it felt really soft!), and two metal rings that looked like they were chained together–oh, oh, there's a book in here, too!

Lydra pulled it out but the book looked a bit torn up. There was a naked woman on the cover but there were words covering her chest and pelvic area. The little nation frowned. So... the world really doesn't like naked people... ? She flipped open the book and suddenly became confused. Did people like naked bodies or not? There were clearly naked women in this bo–oooh, that one can bend. Wonder how she can do that.

The young woman threw the book back into the box frustrated. There were some things she understood but there were others that she didn't. This new world was irritatingly confusing.

"Oh, heyyy! Ciao, Lydra! Che cosa hai lì," _Oh, heyyy! Hello, Lydra! What do you have there?_; Italy suddenly appeared next to Lydra, looked over her shoulder and into the box, "oh! E 'la finestra della Germania porno! Come hai trovato questo?" _Oh! It's Germany's porno box! How did you find that?_; he pulled out the book and began flipping through it, "yeah, la Germania è veramente disgustoso. Non ha mai andando ottenere signore in questo modo. Egli è veramente in BSDM, lo sapevate che?" _Yeah, Germany's really disgusting. He's never going to get ladies this way. He's really into BSDM, did you know that?_; he flipped to the last page and placed the book back into the box. Lydra took the giant feather and shoved it into his face. He sputtered and went down on his back as she continued to attack him with the feather, laughing as she did so.

"Ech bishov uxequih Germanky sisoph xash phuleyos quk aphapha quk ihisud," _I can't imagine Germany would have something as silly as this_; Lydra stopped her assault and watched as Italy made little 'henyeh' sounds as he flailed on the ground. The woman placed the feather back into the box, closed it then shoved it back into the closet. She then stood up, looked briefly at Italy (who was still doing his weird thing) and walked off in search of Germany.

Five minutes later, Lydra found him on an arm chair reading. With glasses.

Glasses? Weird.

"Oh, hello, Lydra," he said in English after he noticed her. In order to help Lydra learn, he asked if each country could speak in English to her if they ever saw her. If he had seen Italy talking to Lydra in Italian five minutes ago, he would have yelled at him.

"Hekloh," she said and walked over to him then leaned onto the top of the arm chair and placed her arms and head down near his.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he looked at her. She stared, "...right," he looked back down and began reading his book.

After a few moments of silence the island nation abruptly took the book from him and began reading it (upside down). She flipped it a few times until she got it the way Germany had been holding it before.

"Denkeh blickshe der gundge aufh," _Then the boy looked up_; she read. Lydra grunted, slammed her face onto the top of the arm chair and placed the book on her head, obviously frustrated. There were a few moments of silence before Germany attempted to take the book back. Lydra, on the other hand, raised the book away from him yelling 'no' in her language then turned and jumped into his lap and began reading again, "und sah seinkeh fend, 'he auf-schkreshien. Bee-eeilen sie sichkeh, oder wir we-rden uns vers-päten'," _and saw his friend call out, 'hey. Hurry up or we'll be late.'_

Germany would have clapped for Lydra's efforts but both of her legs were currently resting on one of his arms and her back was pinning the other one down. It was comfortable! "That was very good, Lydra," he smiled and in turn, that made her smile wide. Every time she was with Germany, she felt giddy and oblivious to everything else. It felt comforting.

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Several days later, Lydra had fallen out of bed after hearing the house filled with music. Utterly confused by what was happening, she waddled out of her room, still tangled in sheets and began looking for what was going on.

Waddle, waddle, waddle, oooh, found it!

In a room, Germany was sitting with a young woman as a man was sitting across from them, playing an over... over... what was that thing anyway? Anyway, it was making music. Muuusic!

No, wait, the music stopped! Nooo!

"Lydra, good morning!" Germany stood from his chair and approached the smaller nation as she stood in the doorway looking like an utter mess. Well, she had just tumbled out of bed so she was still tangled in her sheets. Her PJ's were here and there and her hair was... kind of poofy, "Austria, this is the girl that's living with me now," Germany patted Lydra's shoulder as he began guiding her further into the room.

"She looks... peculiar," the man sitting on the funny box thing stared at her. It looked more like he was analyzing the small woman. Whatever, his hair was funny, too. Psh! And those clothes!

"She looks like she's a very nice girl," the woman who had sat next to Germany stated. Lydra looked at her and instantly wanted to BFF her. Ttly. Bfs4Evur!

"Austria," Germany raised a hand to Austria who bowed his head, "Hungary," he did the same to the woman who also bowed her head.

"Hello, my name is Lydra," she waved at both of them then pointed at the giant, sleek box, "devod shi dek," _what is that?_; she asked, hoping someone would answer her.

"Piano," Germany replied, also hoping that that was what she was asking.

"Pehkaahnu," Lydra attempted to repeat, "pehkaahnu."

"Definitely peculiar," Austria muttered.

"Oh, Rodrick, play something so she can listen to it!" Hungary clapped her hands together. Austria shook his head but took his positions nevertheless. Germany sat Lydra down next to Hungary then stood behind the two women as Austria began playing.

He began playing and... the rhythm was very intoxicating. It was one of Vivaldi's pieces played in D minor. And for a while... Lydra listened.

After a while, the piece changed and Hungary began to sing. Her voice, along with the piano piece was very soothing. Lydra looked at both of them in envy. Could she do this too? Could she sing and play a sleek box beautifully as they?

The music and singing eventually stopped and the occupants of the room clapped (excluding Lydra but she eventually did after Germany signaled that she should).

"That was very lovely!" Hungary chirped, "oh, do you think Lydra can sing...?" she looked up at Germany, hoping he had the answer but he shrugged.

"I will be utterly surprised if she can even utter a note," Austria said as he became interested in the piano keys.

"What a mean thing to say!" Hungary puffed out her chest, stood up then grabbed both Lydra's hands and pulled her up as well, "let's see if you can, yes?" she brought her over to the piano which allowed Lydra to peek inside. There was a butt-load of strings in there!

"I want to see if she can sing the basics!" Hungary patted Austria's shoulder. He grunted and played a single key to which Hungary replied 'ah' in a high pitch. Lydra looked back at Germany who, again, shrugged.

"Fah!" she said. After the younger nation said nothing, Hungary gently grabbed her hand and said 'fah' again.

"Fek," Lydra mooed out. Austria held back a laugh but stopped after he noticed Hungary was ready to hit him.

"Fah."

"Fek."

"Fah."

"Fe-ah."

"Fah."

"Fee-hhk."

"F-ah."

"F-eh."

"F-aaah."

"F-aaah."

"Look, she did it!" Hungary jumped up and down clapping. Lydra smiled.

Thirty minutes later, Hungary had taught the new nation how to say 'doh-ray-me' but singing it was a whole other story...

"Dek-recklah-mesh," Lydra croaked. At this point, Austria had bashed his fingers into the piano keys and went down snorting, unable to keep his proper composure.

"Sie ist schrecklich! Sie singt wie ein Farm-Tier!" _She's horrible! She sings like a farm animal!_; Hungary instantly went after Austria after he said his sentence and began beating him with a frying pan (where it came from, Lydra wasn't sure). Lydra, on the other hand, could care less about her singing abilities (she was 'in the moment,' as one would put it when Hungary had sung to one of Austria's pieces earlier) and shuffled out of the room as Germany tried to calm down Hungary.

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"Germany, Germany!" Lydra cried out, finally getting Germany's name down. Honestly, it was cute when she said 'Germonkey' the first time but it was tiring after she kept saying it weeks after. At the current moment, it was the afternoon and Austria and Hungary had left to return to their respective homes. Hungary had nearly knocked out Austria from his earlier comments about Lydra wonderful singing voice but thankfully, Germany was there to calm the Hungarian down (as well as hold her back). Germany was in the kitchen writing writing things down in a notebook when Lydra popped in.

"Hello, Lydra. What do you want?" he stood straight from his slouched position and looked at her as she bounded in.

"What...," she paused for a moment, trying to remember what England told her just moments ago over the phone, "due... jou... na-amkeh?" she asked. Germany stared.

"What?"

"What due jou na-mkeh?" she repeated, "guga shi lecher yugom, lech voqu izexo!" _What's your name, you silly boy!_

"Na-mkeh?" he repeated the word Lydra had stated in question. She looked down at her hands for a moment then placed one up and ran from the kitchen. Germany stood for a short while before going back to writing in his notebook. Soon after he finished one sentence, the young woman bounced in once more.

"What es yo-u'rkeh nameh?" she slowly said then stood still as she waited for Germanys answer.

"What is my name?" he looked at her to which she nodded, "Germany," but this answer made her shake her head.

"England es Arthekur Keurklendeh! Amurikah es A... Alfrekd Johnez!" Lydra shook her hands in the air trying to prove her point.

"Oh, my actual name. Ludwig," he stated simply.

"Ledwog?" she tilted her head slightly.

"Ludwig," and Lydra continued to attempt to state his name correctly for a few minutes before somewhat nailing it with 'Lewdwig.'

"What is your name, Lydra?" Germany asked the same question she had asked him. He shut his note book and placed it inside of one of the kitchen counters along with the pen he was using.

"Mai nameh?" she asked. He nodded, "Kyzi Vyro," he stared.

"What a unique name," the woman shrugged at whatever he had said.

"Elav och osu sejuyax xash akaco yugom's mak Ech uk inu. Gi ehipur wusa xat vuqu wajaj atoj ... itayoreh agodec igogushur evmogok xisuzo, cokeroyo ihixudge uzux usozoluk itow ufol phapabo esupmad eyevakifo thesuship uphese naceyo ephip weuv phure America unachk aquom ujehelemoz robuq hippis. Ech sugs zuya avukate yova...," _people at my house have weird names so I have one too. It leads back to the revolt and … stuff from when people migrated from other countries to get away from their homelands political powers. My house is full of rebels who don't know what to do. They're … hippies? Whatever America calls his people now. I hear they are causing a commotion at America's home. Reminds me of the revolutions..._

At this point, Lydra was rambling about nothing as Germany sat down at the dinner table and listened to her as she continued to speak to herself in her native tongue.

France was right. If you listened closely and intensely, Lydra did sound like a slurring drunk.


	3. III

**AN**: _I received lovely reviews that I was so not expecting! Thank you everyone who reviewed! I enjoyed reading them while I was at work (bad, I know but work gets quite slow!). C:_

_Again, I would like to point out that this was once a Reader-Insert story so if you find any errors, please do not hesitate to tell me! Since it was also a 'you' story, Lydra never came with a physical description (except for being shorter than most nations). After thinking it over, I decided to incorporate some sort of imagery of what she would look like instead of leaving her as a blank canvas._

_There are also other small bits. The chapters will get longer (I think, I hit 40k at one point!) and the story will get incredibly darker as the chapters go on. That is all I will say on that._

_Please enjoy!_

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'_So lovely_,' little Lydra thought as she examined the few picture books she had taken from Germany's library. Many of the books were (obviously) in his language and had many images so it was a treat that the little nation actually found something that she could enjoy. Most of the books she had pulled from the shelves were of architecture and art. Some contained peopled who looked like they were important at one point and some had paintings of different kinds of styles. It was like she held the world's greatest human marvels in her very hands.

"Sh... a... te... you deh Ch-eknokesh," Lydra attempted to word out the title what was underneath one image which appropriately read '_Château de Chenonceau_.'

"The Loove," she worded out on a different picture which also appropriately read '_The Louvre_.'

"The Pahlas of… Germany!" grabbing the book, she dashed up and away from the library all the while yelling 'Germany, Germany!' Thankfully, because of the noise she had been making, Germany was quick to find the young woman as he had barreled out of one of the rooms he was in and ran towards her.

"What is it? What is it, Lydra, what's wrong?" he halted in front of her, clearly concerned but then clearly confused after the small nation before him had shoved the book into his face.

"We... go... here!" she sputtered out as she pointed to a magnificent palace in the picture book, "I go here? Yes?" her smile brightened. Germany let out a heavy sigh, thankful that it Lydra wasn't injured but it just felt like he had to take care of another Italy. Bothersome. He took the book from her and examined the picture.

"This is at Frances house," he pointed out.

"We go, yes? I see! I see!" clapping her hands together, she pointed to the picture again, nodding her head in excitement, "we go to... Verk...se.. leshdeh, yes, yes?"

"Versailles."

"Verselles."

"Versailles."

"Versailles."

"Good girl," he patted Lydra on the head then closed the book and handed it to the small nation.

"We go, yes, yes?" she held the book to her chest tightly, waiting for him to say yes or ja but instead, he shook his head.

"I have too many things to work on, I'm sorry," he patted the young nation's shoulder gently and gave her a sad smile. That was only half the reason. The other half was because France was a lovely pervert and because Lydra still had a very small vocabulary with English, it would have been a good opportunity for France to get to her.

She frowned, "arad dor? Hota gapet hobok? Ech doksh os oda! Yis ihun oh ono, Germany!" _but why? Has it been destroyed? I want to go! Please take me, Germany!_; Lydra pulled at his shirt sleeve and began tugging it like a child but he only shook his head once more.

"I'm sorry, maybe next time," he took her hand and she let go of his sleeve. He let go, turned and walked back into the room which he came from, leaving Lydra in the hallway feeling dejected.

'_Why can't I go? Is it because the place is ugly to him? Is it really gone?_' she opened the book back up to the page which was entitled '_Palace_ _of Versailles_' and made a face, '_something this pretty can't have gone away!_' she turned and retreated back into the library only to mope on the couch.  
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"Ciao, ciao!" Lydra was quickly woken up from her light nap to Italy saying 'hello' in Italian directly in her face.

"Ethack," she mumbled in her language. Sitting up, she sat for a moment, feeling groggy and utterly miserable from her slumber. Nerves felt irritated, her muscles felt weak and it seemed like a little headache coming on. Lydra looked down and noticed that the book she had been cradling since she found it had been thrown on the floor, possibly from when she had fallen asleep. The young nation leaned over to retrieve it as Italy began blathering about... things.

"Cosa stai facendo in biblioteca oggi? Stai cercando di saperne di più inglese? Credo che si dovrebbe parlare italiano. Italiano è una lingua bella. Oh, che cosa hai lì?" _what are you doing in the library today? Are you trying to learn more English? I think you should speak Italian. Italian is such a nice language. Oh, what do you have there?_; Italy looked on as she opened the book back to Versailles.

"Oh, questo è a casa di Francesca! Ho visto solo l'esterno. E 'davvero bella! Si consiglia di visitare " _oh, that's at Frances house! I've only seen the outside. It is really pretty! You should visit!_; the female sighed heavily as he babbled on.

"Andiamo a fare in Germania ci, sì?" _let's go make Germany take us, yes?_; without a response from her, Italy grabbed his newfound friend by the wrist and pulled her behind him as he rushed out of the library. Confused as to what he was doing, Lydra just kept up the pace and held onto the book as he began calling out for Germany. The German eventually revealed himself, coming out of the same room he had been in previously when Lydra had called on him earlier but this time more relaxed yet annoyed.

"Yes?" he asked, looking down at Italy as he took Lydra's book away from her and shoved it into Germany's face.

"We want to go to Versailles!" he waved the piece of literature Germanys face. Lydra stared intently at Germany once she heard the word 'Versailles'.

"No."

"Awww, but why?" Italy pouted as Germany smacked the book away from his face.

"I have work to do and I don't want Lydra go to go France's place."

"But I want to go too! So it'll be okay!"

"I'd be even more worried if you were to accompany her," Germany voice became stern as Italy began whining.

"But it'd be only for one day, really!" he took Germany's shirt sleeve like Lydra had done earlier and began tugging at it, "please, just for one day. Besides, Lydra is an isolated island! She's never seen the world except for some places but all those places were crappy! Versailles is really pretty and big! So big!" following suit, Lydra also began tugging on Germany's other arm chanting 'Versailles, Versailles, Versailles!' This only helped to irritate the German.

"No!" he shouted and pulled his arms away, "I have work to do! That is my final answer!" he turned and shut the door, leaving Lydra and Italy in the hallway alone. Lydra's shoulders slumped. She felt childish at the moment since she had the sudden urge to whine and cry for a bit.

"Awww, don't feel bad, Lydra," Italy hugged his friend as she attempted to mentally beat herself, "Germany never said that you can't go to France, he just doesn't want you to go!" he patted her back then began leading her down the hallway. Although his plans were clear to him, Lydra had no clue where he was taking about.

"Italy," Lydra spoke after they entered the dining room, "what is … your name?" she slowly voiced, trying to make sure she had said it right.

"Feliciano Vargas!" he replied happily as he lead the clueless woman out of Germany's house.  
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"Oh, il est que la jolie jeune dame de nouveau! Bonjour! Avez-vous voulu passer une nuit avec moi ... ?" _oh, it's that lovely young lady again! Hello! Did you want to spend a night with me...?_; France exclaimed once he had opened the front door to his house to discover Italy and Lydra standing outside.

"Hello, France! Lydra wanted to see Versailles but Germany didn't want to take her so I brought her!" said nation waved at France who just stared down at her. Suddenly, she felt somewhat 'pocket-sized,' if you would. Germany towered over her but she had never really taken notice how tall people were until now. It was the fact that France was staring down at her in a somewhat distasteful way that made her feel shorter than she really was, which was around five foot.

"Oh? She's interested in my architecture and landmarks? Magnifique! I'll take her to Versailles right now! Part of it is being renovated at the moment so I hope you don't mind...?" he directed the question to the young female but since she was still slow and didn't understand English that well, she just stared.

"I want to go too! Please?" Italy tugged on Frances arm. France, in turn, threw an annoyed look at Italy but sighed, "fine, fine, you may go too but you must pay the entry fee," Italy paused at France's remarks but then rejoiced and soon the small group was off to... where ever. Lydra still wasn't sure where they were going.  
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"Voyez! Le Palais de Versailles!"

"France, I didn't know this place was this big!"

"Pretek!"

Indeed, Versailles was 'pretek' as Lydra had said. She felt significantly shorter now than she was earlier but it was simply because of Versailles vast architecture. The windows! The roofs! The garden! It was beyond words!

"Let's go inside, yes?" France took Lydra by the hand led her inside. She didn't mind one bit as she stared at the walls and intricate designs that decorated every inch of the room they walked through, "going over its history for Lydra would be useless since she doesn't know English, French or any other language for that matter," Frances voice echoed down the hallways as Italy joined in Lydra's awing. Crystal chandeliers! So pretty!

"Hey, France, this just reminded me," Italy walked next to France as the small group entered a drawing room.

"Hey, you! Off the cou–oh, it's just you," France began to shout but then stopped after the man sitting on the couch wearily stood up.

"Hola, Francia, Italia. ¿Quién es esto?" _hello, France, Italy. Who is that?_; he leisurely pointed to Lydra. She waved.

"This is Lydra," France pushed said nation in front of him as the new man approached the group, "her house is below the North Poles."

"Ah, such a cold place! My name is Spain," the Spaniard took Lydras free hand and kissed it gently then smiled at her. She blinked.

"Hello, my name is Lydra," she repeated what France had said then patted Spain on the head.

"Cute," he looked down at her in amusement.

"Why are you here? Why didn't you go to my house? Why are you sitting on furniture that isn't meant to be sat on anymore?" France began asking his questions calmly but ended up yelling at the end. The Spaniard sighed and scratched his head as Lydra retreated back and began measuring her height against Italy's height on a nearby wall.

"I wanted to come over but I heard you had gone. One of the maids told me that you had come here with Italy so I decided I'd meet you here. I just like you too much to wait for you, Francis," Spain said the last part suggestively but then yawned.

"Lovely," France snorted. He was still irritated with the fact that Spain was lounging on something quite old and historic.

Lydra, on the other hand, had forced Italy down to a kneeling position in front of her then kneeled down herself next to him and began playing with his hair. He was looking kind of cute in little braids.

"Have you heard from Gilbert lately?" Spain asked as he plopped himself down onto the golden couch once more. France immediately scurried over and began beating the Spaniard off.

"Get off!" Spain fell over and grunted.

"It wasn't comfortable anyway," he sat up and leaned onto the couch instead. France eyed him carefully as Spain ran a hand through his hair.

"And no, I haven't. He hasn't been at Germany's house lately. I can only imagine what he's been doing. I bet you he's at Hungary's or somewhere. He'll be back."

"Veee~!" Italy was now adorned with a head full of small braids, "you work so fast, Lydra!" he began playing with his braids as France and Spain just stared.

"Interesting girl," Spain commented.

"Oh! France, that reminds me! When are you going to give back the art that I lent you...?" Italy calmly asked. However, his little question sent France into a flying rage.

"What? What about all the times I helped you? Haven't I been good to you? I didn't spread lies around during the second war and-and-and," France rushed over and began pummeling Italy who, in turn, kept shouting for mercy.

Lydra, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen. Before Italy had asked his question, she had left the room so that she could explore the palace. One room was nice but she was interested in the entire palace since it was so big!

What was also interesting were the tourists! In every room she went and every hallway and corridor she passed by, she met tourists. Some were large, tall, skinny, oddly shaped, wore funny clothing, and all of them spoke in languages she had never heard before (while others spoke languages that sounded close to English or German). As she walked among the crowd admiring the rooms, the young woman began to wonder what would it be like if her little island had flourished and if Lilid became one of the most used languages in the world. If that happened, then everyone would be walking around naked and talking like drunks! What a pleasant thought! However, it was disheartening as well. She was unsure of what her boss was doing at the moment or even if she still had a boss. Lydra began tugging at her shirt a bit, feeling a bit out of place and a tad bit homesick but began pushing that aside after she entered one of the apartment rooms reserved for the kings.  
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"Mon bonbon, vous ne devriez pas dormir sur le lit de XIV'S de Roi Louis. Je ne ferai pas mal vous aimez je fais l'Espagne, mais réveillez-vous s'il vous plaît et vite, aussi. Vous êtes trop jolis quand vous dormez," _my sweet, you shouldn't sleep on King Louis XIV's bed. I won't hurt you like I do Spain but please wake up and quickly, too. You're too cute when you sleep_; Lydra heard France's voice as she began to wake up. As it became later in the day, the young woman had become lost in the palace and had been eagerly attempting to find France and Italy but to no avail. Instead, she had grown weary and opted to just stay put in one place, hoping that they would find her. She patiently waited for two hours but ended up falling asleep in the king's bed on accident. Once she saw France's face when she woke, she shot up and leaped off the bed then began smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes. France chuckled at Lydra's actions.

"Je sais que vous ne pensez pas à mal. J'ai été inquiété de vous. Je vous ai cherchés toute la nuit et ici vous étiez, paisiblement endormis! Je vous aurais rejoints, mais pas ici. Absolument pas ici," _I know you mean no harm. I was worried about you. I looked for you all and here you were, peacefully asleep! I would have joined you but not here. Absolutely not here_; France stood tall in front of the little nation and placed a lock of her dark, amber hair behind her ear as he smiled. Lydra, of course, stared at him since she had no clue what he was saying.

"Eh bien, c'est l'aube. Je veux vous montrer un merveilleux plaisir," _come, it's dawn. I want to show you a marvelous treat_; France lead the small woman away from the room and down a hallway. Lydra began feeling nervous. Was he going to hit her like he had done with Spain and Italy… ?

"Ce hall vous fera se sentir comme si vous êtes une déesse, je vous assure," _this hall will make you feel as if you are a goddess, I assure you_; unsure of what he said, she gripped the hem of her shirt tightly as her other hand was being held by Frances.

She turned and... oh my.

"Le Galerie des Glaces," _the Hall of Mirrors_.

The hall was intricate in detail. Crystal chandelles, golden statues, decorated walls, the ceiling was painted, the mirrors made the hallway look grander, it was just an awe-inspiring spectacle of interior beauty. The best part was how the morning light was coming through the windows, making the hall shine brighter than it would ever have during any other time.

"Os't zuda weth nuck," _it's so beautiful_; Lydra proceeded slowly down the hallway as she took in how big and high everything was.

"Je le prends que vous aimez cela, oui?" _I take it that you like it, yes?_; France chuckled as he watched Lydra walk underneath the velvet rope that blocked tourists away from the windows and gaze outside to the gardens. The warm sunlight poured in and it only made her want to stay there more than ever. This place was vast, rich in decor and overflowing in beauty. She never wanted to leave.

"J'aimais toujours cette région de Versailles. C'est très beau, comme vous, mon petit ange," _I always liked this area of Versailles. It's very beautiful, just like you, my little angel_; France came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her small frame. He briefly placed his chin on top of her head before whispering soft, French words to her. Lydra had no idea what he said but his creepiness was deterred by the garden she as viewing at the moment. She didn't even mind that his hands were sliding down her waist. She had somewhat assumed that customs in countries were different and even though he was dangerously close to breaking her own customs, she didn't want to be a rude guest. However, she was preparing herself to stop him if crossed the line.

"France, what is your name?" she asked as the Frenchman pulled her back gently against him.

"Francis Bonnefoy," he whispered into her ear then began to nip at it.

Right. That wasn't a custom and she knew it.

"FRANCE!" a piercing shout echoed through the hall. Instantly, both countries turned to see a red-faced German rushing towards the both of them.

"C'est l'Allemagne! Je dois partir, mon amour! Rapide, quelqu'un me cache!" _It's Germany! I must leave, my love! Quick, someone hide me!_; France quickly gave Lydra a peck on the cheek before rushing out of the hallway where they had both entered. She watched as Germany chased after France, not even stopping to wave at her.

"Oh, there you are!" a lively voice greeted the female. Lydra turned and found Italy had popped up right behind her, "we had been looking for you all night! We ended up splitting up but Spain went home because he got really tired and while I was looking for you, Germany came! I don't think coming here was a good idea, he was really mad and hit me, see?" Italy lifted up his shirt to reveal a red area which had been obviously punched. Lydra's eye twitched, "I took the blame though. I told him that I took you here and that it was all my idea!" he nodded his head and gave his friend a thumbs up. In return, she nodded and repeated his actions then took Italy by the hand and began pointing out all of the items in the hallway that she enjoyed.

"Wow! It's so pretty in here! France never showed me this place before! I'm glad that we came even though Germany isn't," he paused to artistically admire a female statue which was bare-chested and held a series of candles in her hands, "so detailed!"

"You!" Germany's voice echoed through the hallway again as he re-appeared from where he had disappeared. He rushed over and forcibly grabbed Lydra by the shoulders, "I told you not to come here! There's a good reason! France just tried to... just tried to do things to you and you didn't even notice! You can't come here, you aren't allowed here, I forbid you!" he shook the young nation as he gripped her shoulders.

"G-Germany, eto atapat uli," _Germany, you're hurting me_; Lydra attempted to push him away but he kept his hold on her. Not only was he hurting her but he was frightening her terribly as well.

"I want you to understand that you're not allowed at Frances house or near France either!"

"But Germany, it was my fault, she wasn't th-"

"No, I know it wasn't you who thought of this idea. You just took her here. She came to me before you came to my house wanting to come here but I told her no. I don't want her near anyone who will take advantage of her. Why do you think that Prussia hasn't been in the basement recently? I've been making sure he doesn't enter the house. When he returns, I'm going to send her to Austria or England's home until he goes away again. Until she understands what isn't customarily right, I won't let anyone harm her or take advantage of her," Germany pulled Lydra against him and walked past a stunned Italy as he kept one of his hands gripped on her shoulder.

Once they had left the grounds Lydra began crying.

"Nove, nove. I'm sorry, Germany, I'm sorry."

He, too, wanted to cry. Because Lydra still only had a few words down, it was difficult to communicate to her so it was like communicating to a child most of the time instead of a fully grown woman. It was the language barrier that separated the two of them from a peaceful relationship and it was the barrier that kept them apart.


	4. IV

**AN (1/13/12): **_Sorry, I felt I needed to clear this up because of a recent review (Thank you!). I was afraid Lydra going over the wall would confuse a few people so I'll just put this here just in case. When Lydra climbs the wall to get to East Germany (which is under the command of the USSR), she is shot at but is lucky to dodge the shots. When she returns to West Germany she's shot at again but is hit multiple times which causes her black out. I might end up mentioning somewhere that guns are foreign to her mainly because her people don't own firearms. Again, if there's any confusion, please tell me and I'll fix it as soon as possible! I feel terrible already that I've lost a chapter (but I have the rest!) so I'll do my best to fix up anything that seems wrong with the transition from chapter three to five. _

**AN:** _Sorry I haven't updated in ages! The story's actually written out to twelve chapters already, it's just I need to convert them all and I really don't enjoy that process! Also, chapter four mysteriously disappeared. None of my flash drives have it and I'm unable to get into my bigger hard drives to even check (missing cables…!). FoSFF and Lunaescence are still down so instead of re-writing it (because chapter four took the longest out of all of them because I absolutely hated it so I'm absolutely not writing it again!) I'm just going to skip ahead and summarize it the best I can so that we can just go forward with the story. Also, my information on the Berlin wall isn't 100% accurate and I apologize in advance._

_Thank you!_

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So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Desperately wanting to make Germany happy, the little island nation decided to make it up to him by making one of her people's meals. After slipping out of the house while Germany was away, Lydra made her way across town and eventually stopped at a large wall. Walking along it for a few miles to find an entrance, she decided to hop it. She wasn't sure why it was there but it seemed more like a hindrance than anything. Eventually finding a marketplace, Lydra grabbed the essentials for her meal (a rabbit intestine was especially hard to find!) and bumped into China who stuck by here even though she kept trying to keep him away. When Lydra attempted to return to Germanys home was when the fiasco really started.

She'd lost most of her groceries after climbing the wall and ended up suffering an indescribable pain that she'd never felt before. It was all a haze and the next clear vision she had was her lying in her bed and everything felt stiff. The little nation could hardly get out of bed and after a bit of struggling to sit up, noticed a note by the bedside. In sloppy handwriting, it said that her wounds were taken care of and to never cross the wall again. Instead of being a menacing warning, it caused Lydra to smile, for China had written the note in her language. It was nice to know that even though she may have disliked him, he had the courtesy of attempting to learn her culture while he was on her island.

The next few days after Lydra awoke from her blackout at the wall didn't go so well for her. Her wounds would cause her to wake in the middle of the night and keep her up for hours on end. It was difficult to sleep since the wounds would ache from being constantly slept on and sleeping on her back proved difficult as well. Her stomach was no better since being in that position only gave her a headache. Being stuck in one place for a while made Lydra much more cautious to her surroundings. She knew when Italy was visiting because he would be loud when he entered the house (she had never realized exactly how loud since she never paid attention to his dramatic entrances). She would take his grand entrance as an opportunity and hide herself away (mainly in the bathrooms) as to avoid him from hugging her. Lydra barely saw Germany these days since he had so much work to do so it felt like he was avoiding her. It was good on her part, since she didn't want him to see her moving so slow then questioning why but Lydra also felt terrible since she hadn't really seen him since the day he took her away from Frances house. The last time the little nation saw him was from a second story window two days ago. He was leaving and Lydra took the opportunity to bang on her window as hard as she could without further injuring herself. She managed to catch his attention but he only turned his head to look at her briefly before turning away and continuing his walk down the road. She was unable to read the expression on his face and proceeded to bump her forehead against the window.

At the moment Lydra was in her room examining herself in a full length mirror which hung on the back of her door. She'd taken off her shirt so she could be able to examine her bandages more closely. They hadn't been changed since the day China had put them and they were starting to… reek a bit. Mainly of old blood but Lydra knew that they had to be replaced or it was very possible that an infection could spring up at any time.

"Ah, qu'est-ce qui vous est arrivé, mon amour?" _ah, what happened to you, my love?; _ a voice suddenly called from the window. Lydra shrieked in surprise then turned around swiftly.

"Frankreich!" she cried in German then tumbled over after losing her balance from the pain in her side. The French man hauled himself into the room from the open window he had been hanging from and flung himself to the little nations side.

"Mon petit oiseau, qu'est-ce qui vous est arrivé ? Cet allemand vous l'a-t-il fait ? Je le forcerai s'il a fait!" _my little bird, what has happened to you? Did that German do this to you? I'll hunt him down if he did!_; he spoke softly (except for the last bit) as he held the young woman in his arms. It was a comforting gesture and something that she desperately needed. Lydra was so grateful at that moment that France was so huggie-touchy but not as huggie-touchy as Italy. Italy would jump on her without a second thought while France came onto her tenderly and with gentle affection so France was good for her now and just what she needed. Lydra pushed away from him.

"You…," she pointed at France then down at the gauze wrapped around her midsection. She began pulling at them but France stopped her.

"Non, non, ne faites-le. Permettez à vos blessures de guérir pour que vous puissiez vous améliorer et nous pouvons...," _no, no, don't do that. Let your injuries heal so that you may get better and we can...;_ France began to close in on her and breathed the last part into Lydras ear before he began to nip at it. The little nation grunted before pushing him away. The pain in her side was way more important than what France wanted to do! Whatever it was.

"You!" she shoved her index finger into his chest then began ripping off the gauze. He attempted to stop the young woman again but the gauze ended up falling and pooled around her seated form. She looked down began slowly pulling away at the large bandage that was sticking on top of the wound and as it came off, Lydra became horrified at the sight. There was a large black and blue spot around the wound but it looked as if it had been stitched up. There was a heavy smell of old blood but thankfully, it didn't look like the wound had re-opened.

"Mon, vous le pauvre enfant! Qui a fait cela à vous paiera!" _my, you poor child! Whoever did this to you will pay!_; Frances words held anger as he bent over a bit more to examine the injury, "nous devrions y utiliser nouveau wrappings...," _we should use new wrappings on this…_; he bent over and picked Lydra up gently as he would a bride then laid her on her bed, "vous restez ici," _you stay here;_ he kissed her forehead then went off to disappear into the bathroom.

Lydra yawned and attempted to move this way and that so that she could see her injury from lying down but she stopped after the first two tries and just laid on the bed, grasping and releasing the bed sheets every so often until France emerged from the bathroom. She assumed that he talking to himself or cursing in French.

"I must raid Germany's house for supplies," he spoke in English which Lydra took note of. She suddenly had a great interest in his French accent and had an urge for him to speak English to her more often, "there is nothing in your bathroom, ma chérie, so I will go through the gates of hell for you!" he took a deep breath, puffed out his chest then left the room, closing the door behind him. The small woman nearly dozed off waiting until France came back some time later with a white, metal box in his hands.

"Je l'ai trouvé dans la salle de bains allemande. Pour une fois, je suis heureux qu'il soit si organiz é," _I found this in Germanys bathroom. For once, I'm glad that he's so organized_; he placed the metal box on the night table, opened it and shifted the contents around as the injured woman eased herself up.

"Alright, levez vos bras pour moi, mon chaton," _raise your arms for me, my kitten_; he placed his hands on her lower arm and raised it then hovered his hand below her arm so that she would get the idea. Lydra raised both of her arms above her head and allowed France to remove the old bindings and replace them with fresh new ones. Once he was done and cleaned up after himself, Lydra laid herself down and closed her eyes only to have France pat her shoulder lightly.

"Put this on so that you won't be cold," in his free hand, he held one of her night shirts. For a moment, she had questioned why he was handing her one of her shirts until he sat her up again and placed it over her head. Oh, she had forgotten that she had taken off her shirt earlier and was only wearing a bra (a lovely laced one, one of Frances earlier gifts to her) when France had appeared. Lydra almost objected to him putting her shirt on since she felt more comfortable with less clothes on but did nothing and allowed him to briefly dress her, "that's better, isn't it?" the Frenchman gave the Lydrian a sweet smile but she didn't return it. Her felt emotions were suddenly becoming overwhelmed and felt mildly depressed for no reason. Thinking it was possibly because she was tired or maybe it was the thought that France had found out that she was injured, Lydra just wanted to be left alone for the moment.

"Hey now… why are you sad? I know, why don't you sleep, I will be here to lull you until you do," France made his way to the other side of the bed and lied down next to the female. He propped an arm up to hold his head and she gently turned on her side to face him. He placed a hand on her upper arm and began stroking it softly as he hummed a tune then began singing in French. Lydras image on the situation at hand was becoming foggy. With France singing and gently touching her, it made her feel at ease. Her eyes were beginning to droop and she was beginning to lose track of time. The world would be there for a moment then there would be nothing until she opened her eyes again and registered that France was still singing. Everything was so peaceful…

So… peaceful…

"Lydra, Lydra! I've come to visit you! It's been so long! Oh, hello, France!" an Italian accent filled the room as the door had slammed open, an accident on Italy's part.

"Vous imbécile! She was about to sleep! Go away!," France promptly hauled himself off the bed and Lydra mentally groaned. She was almost asleep until Italy came in, why did he pick now to come visit anyway?

"Oh, was she? I want to join too since it's almost time for my siesta anyway, I think that's a good idea. Do you want to join us?" Italy babbled as France tried to push the dense man out of the room.

"Non! Non! Just leave!" he tried to close the door on Italy but the younger man held onto the door frame after something caught his attention.

"Is Lydra hurt?" he managed to release himself from Frances grasp and flung himself to the woman's unmoving side, "why is there a medical box next to her? She doesn't look very good," he looked at her face which Lydra hadn't noticed since she was still trying to sleep, despite the two men 'arguing'.

"I hurt myself, that's all, now go!" France tried to make a grab for Italy again until he noticed something once again.

"There's a red spot on Lydra's… side…," he said as he moved her shirt up a bit. Somehow, an injury had been disturbed and was now bleeding through the new bandages (as well as your shirt). It was probably from when France scared Lydra earlier and caused her to twist her body around. Thankfully, the spot wasn't big but it was enough to have Italy scream in distress and run out of the room before France could catch him.

"Germany, Germany, Lydra's hurt! Lydra's hurt!" France was utterly mortified once Italy began screaming down the hallway. He slammed the door shut, locked it and began the process of rewrapping the little island nations wound again. By the time he was done, Lydra was lying on her back looking up at the ceiling as shouts and poundings came from the door.

"France, I know you're in there, come out, now! If you've harmed Lydra, Ich werde sicherstellen, dass Sie nicht im Stande sein werden, seit Wochen spazieren zu gehen!" _I will make sure that you won't be able to walk for weeks!_; Germany shouted as France became visibly shaken. He began looking at the window then at his female friend, torn between fleeing and staying next to her to protect her from the German. The knob began jiggling then it became quiet. Instantly, France took the medical kit and held it over his shoulder, ready to use it as a weapon against Germany if he needed to.

The door slammed open after Germany gave it one good kick. France jumped and began swinging the kit at Germany in utter fear, "I did nothing, you horrible monster! I can't believe she stays at your house when you do terrible things to her!" he chucked the kit at Germany who dodged. Italy, who had been trailing behind Germany the entire time, dodged as well after he heard the kit get jumbled around then saw Germany duck. He quickly fled from his position behind Germany and next to Lydra on the bed.

"I do terrible things? What about you? You tried to take advantage of her when she went to your house! Why are you even here? Are you trying to take advantage of her here too?" France had taken to Lydras side but Germany grabbed hold of him and attempted to throw him across the room. France, not wanting to go alone, held onto Germany and they both tumbled to the ground then began to pummel each other. Lydras head began to pound lightly, a sign that she was having a headache. Italy was next to her acting as a pathetic commentator, constantly crying out 'don't punch him there, France!' or 'don't pull his hair like that, Germany!' and France and Germany's yells and shouts weren't helping that much either. Since Lydras emotions were doing a barrel roll, she didn't pay much attention to the fight but nevertheless, she'd rather stop them now rather than them hurting each other (or something of hers that she liked).

"Germany!" she shouted and turned her head to the two men. Germany had paid her no heed as he attempted to slam Frances head to the ground but France bit Germany instead, "GERMANY," she shrieked. Instantly, both men stopped and Lydra lifted her hand, waving it towards her lightly, a gesture that she wanted Germany to come hither by her side. To which Germany did so. He let go of France and walked over to her bedside. His hair was a mess, he had a split lip, a bloody nose, and his clothes were just out of place. She had never seen Germany get in a fight before but didn't much care about it at the moment. Instead, she was figuring out how she could say what she wanted to say to him but it was difficult. He stared down at her and was giving her a look that was meant for a parent scolding a child and she absolutely hated it.

"France help, ja?" she gestured to France then to her side, "France nein," she shook her head lightly and pointed at her side again, "Ich falle Stufen hin," _I fall down stairs_; Lydra simply state in broken German. For a few moments, Germany just stared at her and she stared back. She start beginning to suspect that either Germany is coming to terms that maybe France was helping her because she fell down the stairs or maybe he knew that she was lying to him. The moment was broken after Italy muttered 'vee'. Germany took his eyes off the young nation and re-directed them at France who as beaten up as Germany was (maybe even a little more) and instantly began shaking but attempted to stop himself.

Germany raised his hand and pointed at the door, "get out of my house."

"Non! I will-," France stopped himself once he had looked at Lydra. She nodded her head and pinted to the door in agreement with Germany. He looked at the German, made a disgusted face then left but not before turning to the only female in the room and saying, 'J'enregistrerai sur vous, mon amour,' _I will check in on you, my love._

Lydra closed her eyes again after France left. She still felt lulled and wanted nothing more than to sleep but Germany wouldn't allow it.

"Where is she hurt, Italy?" German placed his hands through his hair in attempts to get it back into place at Italy lifted up her shirt.

"Here—oh, France got to it already!" he looked at her newly wrapped injury in light confusion, wondering how France could have done it so quickly.

Germany sighed, "I'm going to clean up, make sure she doesn't leave this room until I come back," Italy nodded and placed Lydra's shirt back down as Germany left, picking up the medical kit as he did so.

Lydra opened her eyes after Germanys' footsteps became more distant and she looked at Italy. He was staring down at her with concern, "you have to stay here, okay? But it'll be alright, because I'll be here with you!" Italy began taking off his shoes as she turned over onto her side again, "did you really fall down the stairs though? Spero che non ha fatto male troppo male, vorrei essere lì quando sei caduto! Ti avrei preso!" _I hope it didn't hurt too bad, I wish I was there when you fell! I would have caught you!_; he began speaking Italian to her as she heard clothes rustling. Lydra didn't care, she suddenly felt ashamed that Germany had found out the secret she had been keeping from him. That caused her to worry. Would he think less of her or would he keep treating her like he had been lately? The thought of the former and latter didn't soothe the woman at all. Instead, it made her heart race. She didn't want either of those outcomes to happen. Gasping, she held her breath. What if he became overprotective of her and didn't allow her to leave? Not having the ability to go to anyone's house hurt Lydra. She hiccupped and grasped her pillow tightly but suddenly felt at ease once a body pressed itself against her back.

"Vee, we can have a siesta together now, I think that'll be good!" Italy placed his hand on Lydra's upper arm and moved it only slightly. Even though it wasn't much, knowing that he was there comforted her and made her feel safer about what was to come. She slowly closed her eyes once more and attempted to sleep again until she heard Germany walk back into her room and abruptly stop.

"Italy! If you're going to have your siesta with Lydra, then put some clothes on!"


End file.
